Apple Music today announced Texas singer/songwriter Parker McCollum as the latest addition to its Up Next program, Apple Music’s monthly artist initiative geared towards identifying, showcasing and elevating rising talent.

Parker McCollum began building a following in his native Texas with 2015’s The Limestone Kid. The album track “Meet You in The Middle” became a hit on Texas’ regional radio chart, but it was the album’s widely-acclaimed follow-up, Probably Wrong, that helped Parker find national success. Bridging the gap between Texas’ homegrown music scene and Nashville’s country-industry headquarters, Parker’s songwriting earned him a publishing deal with Warner/Chappell Nashville in May 2018 and a recording deal with Universal Music Group Nashville in June 2019. In 2020, Parker released Hollywood Gold, the highest-selling debut country EP of 2020, which includes debut No.1 hit single “Pretty Heart,” and was certified Platinum, as well as playlisted across Apple Music top tier playlists, Today’s Country, and Don’t Mess With Texas. Parker followed with his 2021 major label debut, Gold Chain Cowboy, which was the top Country album in 17 countries on Apple Music, including the US, since its release. Earlier this summer, Parker played his first sold-out show at the Dallas, TX Dos Equis Pavilion to a crowd of 20K fans and this fall he played the famed Woodlands (The Cynthia Wood Mitchell Pavilion) in Woodlands, TX, to a sold out crowd which broke attendance records for the venue.

“All I ever wanted was a real shot in country music. To be an Apple Music Up Next artist is an incredible honor and it means so much to me to have a platform like Apple believe in me,” says Parker McCollum. “I always try to keep my head down and earn every little thing so to have this spotlight for a little while is nice. I do not take it for granted. Now back to work. Mad love.”

“Gritty, believable, and absolutely made for the spotlight, “said Apple Music Country host Kelleigh Bannen. “Parker McCollum is one of those rare artists who has been able to translate serious regional fame into mainstream success without compromising his core artistic identity.”

In his Up Next film out today, Parker McCollum shares his journey working on a Texas ranch for his granddad, who got him into artists like George Strait, picking up a guitar because of his older brother, and telling his dad he was going to sign a major record deal one day. Parker tells Apple Music, “I wanted to do it the hard way. I really wanted to earn it. I didn’t want anybody to be able to say anybody bought me anything,” and talks about how he put a band together, recorded music, and toured on his own before getting an offer from every major label in town. He also talks about the rise of his song ‘Pretty Heart,’ the world shutting down two weeks after the song went to radio, and how the pandemic helped him lead a healthier lifestyle.

Additional Up Next campaign moments include a Jimmy Kimmel Live! performance on November 23rd, and a sit down interview with Apple Music Country’s Kelleigh Bannen, where he discusses his Gold Chain Cowboy album, being inspired by Pat Green, playing the Ryman, and the one song that defines him.

Watch the Apple Music Parker McCollum Up Next film HERE

Check out his Apple Music Country interview with Kelleigh Bannen HERE

Stream the Gold Chain Cowboy album today and add the Apple Music Up Next Playlist into your listening rotation.

Today rising country star Parker McCollum released his own version of fellow Texan George Strait’s classic “Carrying Your Love with Me,” as part of a campaign launching today by Spotify which celebrates one of the most iconic decades of country music: The 90s. As fans return to listening to songs and albums of that decade in droves, Spotify is honoring those timeless classics with a microsite, Spotify Singles, video content, and more. Featured as one of three 90s Spotify Singles, Parker McCollum’s reimagined version of “Carrying Your Love With Me,” which was a hit by Strait in 1997, was recently recorded in Nashville.

“George Strait has been my favorite country singer my whole life. I wasn’t going to pass on the chance from Spotify to cover one of his songs,” says McCollum.  “This song is such a classic staple in country music so I was really hoping we could get it right and do the song justice. I think we did. I sure hope he and (producer) Tony Brown would think so too if they heard it.”

According to unique user data from Spotify, US streams of the 90s Country playlist have grown 150% since 2018, and 70% among Gen-Z users in that time. Additionally, there are currently 89 million playlists from Gen-Z users containing iconic 90s Country tracks. Spotify also found that as many fans between 19-24 listen to Spotify’s 90s Country playlist as fans over 45.  That means interest in 90s Country is just as prevalent amongst fans who were just born or not born yet than it is amongst fans who were young adults at the time, showing the timeless nature of these songs.

To listen to “Carrying Your Love With Me” as performed by Nashville-via-Texas singer-songwriter Parker McCollum, click HERE

McCollum sat down with Spotify to talk about his Singles selections and the impact of 90s Country on his own music.  To view click link HERE

To visit the Spotify Single microsite click HERE

On Wednesday night (September 8th), singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and Texas native Parker McCollum played to a sold out crowd in his first headlining show at the famed Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, TN. McCollum released his MCA debut album Gold Chain Cowboy July 30th, which has been met with widespread critical acclaim. A dedicated road warrior, McCollum has been playing to record breaking crowds, and last night he played a rousing show full of singalongs by fans including his first-ever No.1 hit and his Platinum-selling debut single, “Pretty Heart,” “Like a Cowboy,” “Love You Like That,” as well as his current single “To Be Loved By You,” and “Rest of My Life,” which he wrote during the Covid lockdown. McCollum also performed the song written for his now-fiancée who made a brief appearance on stage to the delight of the crowd, “Hallie Ray Light.” The singer, who had the fans on their feet for most of the show, also wowed the crowd with Elvis Presley’s “Suspicious Minds” and George Strait’s “Carrying Your Love With Me.” Labelmate Catie Offerman joined McCollum for the finale of “Hell of a Year.”

“Sold out at the Ryman – I don’t know how much better it gets!” McCollum told the audience. “I don’t take it for granted – I appreciate being on this stage. The Ryman is all about country music. All I wanted to do was play country music for a living and you’re making that happen.”

McCollum, who is featured on Dierks Bentley’s Beers On Me Tour, was also the Opry NextStage featured artist for July.

Upcoming Parker McCollum Shows:

9/9       The Eastern, Atlanta, GA

9/10     Mars Music Hall, Huntsville, AL

9/11     The Blue Room, Statesboro, GA

9/12     Country Thunder Florida, Kissimmee, FL

9/16     Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater at Virginia Beach, Virginia Beach, VA*

9/17     Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek, Raleigh, NC*

9/18     PNC Music Pavilion, Charlotte, NC*

9/19     Born and Raised 2021, Pryor, OK

9/23     Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, SC*

9/24     Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater, Wantagh, NY*

9/25     Xfinity Center, Mansfield, MA*

10/1     Cook’s Garage, Lubbock, TX

10/2     The Cynthia Wood Mitchell Pavilion, The Woodlands, TX

10/7     The Mill & Mine, Knoxville, TN

10/8     Manchester Music Hall, Lexington, KY

10/9     GLC Live at 20 Monroe, Grand Rapids, MI

10/16   Country Thunder Arizona 2021, Florence, AZ

10/21   Shreveport Municipal Auditorium, Shreveport, LA

10/22   Saenger Theatre Mobile, Mobile, AL

11/5     The Fillmore Detroit, Detroit, MI

11/6     Roxian Theatre, Pittsburgh, PA

11/18   Joe’s Live, Rosemont, IL

11/19   Joe’s on Weed Street, Chicago, IL

12/2     The Factory, Chesterfield, MO

12/3     Egyptian Room at the Old National Centre, Indianapolis, IN

12/4     Goodyear Theater, Akron, OH

12/31   Dickies Arena, Fort Worth, TX

*Denotes the Dierks Bentley Beers On Me Tour

McCollum has been named an ‘Artist to Watch’ by Rolling Stone, Billboard, SiriusXM, CMT, RIAA and more with American Songwriter noting, “The Texas native teeters on the edge of next-level superstardom.” McCollum recently earned his first ACM nomination for New Male Artist of the Year and he made his debut playing the famed Grand Ole Opry in Feb 2021.

For more information, visit ParkerMcCollum.com

Parker McCollum has been entertaining large audiences for the past few years, but as he hits the road with Dierks Bentley on the Beers On Me Tour — which kicked off this past weekend, he plans to study the headliner as an artist and a businessman.

“You know, I can’t stress enough how closely I will watch him the whole time we’re on tour with him. I fully expect to be on that level one day, and so I mean, every night that we play I’ll do my thing. We’ll go out and rip our 30, 40 minutes and then when he goes on, I’ll stand side stage and I’ll watch how he goes about his business and how he handles himself as a performer and as a businessman and how he carries himself and take mental notes every night, and hopefully get the opportunity to put those notes to work one day.”

The Beers On Me Tour makes stops in Irvine, California on Friday (August 20th), Mountain View, California on Saturday (August 21st) and Stateline, Nevada on Sunday (August 22nd).

Parker is making his way up the country charts with his latest song, “To Be Loved By You.”

We have compiled an array of content — a variety of liners and soundbites – from PARKER McCOLLUM to equip you with everything you might need to put together your own album radio special; roll-out tracks leading up to –and following — the release of his new record, GOLD CHAIN COWBOY, to use in news feeds, radio specials and much more. Check out all of details below (including audio liners and soundbites, as well as transcriptions) to create your own content surrounding Parker’s new album release.

Parker McCollum wants it both ways. Restless soul who can slam dunk a major venue. Texas spirit who can exist on mainstream country radio. Songwriter with a sense of turpentine and truth singing for people whose life isn’t quite the truckbed/field party revel much of country music would have you believe.

Coming up in Texas, selling out Stubbs, Billy Bobs and Nutty Browns, the brash young man with a taste for Rodney Crowell, Todd Snider and James McMurtry had just enough Houston gangster rap in the water to develop a swagger that’s miles from the good ole boy patina so many of his peers embody. But don’t let that bravado fool you, his passion for songwriting runs deep.
“I want to have Luke Bryan success, singing Chris Knight-caliber songs,” he declares. “To have longevity, you can’t sacrifice integrity to get on the radio. People know the difference, look at Willie, look at Strait. I knew I could do Texas and never leave, or come to Nashville and do the pop-country thing. My goal is to ride the middle.”

He exhales as he says this, takes in the landscape. He’s already notched a platinum-certified #1 with the banged-up declaration of love and betrayal “Pretty Heart.”

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD ALBUM AUDIO TOOLKIT.

Just a few short weeks ago, Parker McCollum got engaged to his girlfriend Hallie Ray, and he enlisted the help of his event planning sister to help out to surprise his future wife.

“The proposal I got really lucky with. My sister’s an event planner in Washington, D.C., and I’ve been so busy on the road there was no way that I was going to pull that off on my own,” says Parker. “So, her and Hallie Ray’s mom killed it. I mean, just absolutely took care of the whole deal (and) flew her family and my family in to surprise her. She’d had no idea. She thought we were going to a label dinner. She thought she was walking into this private room where everybody with the record label would be there, and then obviously, when she pulled back the curtain and saw all the flowers and all that stuff. I don’t remember what I said. She doesn’t remember what I said either, but I did the thing and then they all came down and surprised her and we had a little party. It really went off without a hitch. It was great.”

Parker, who is making his mark on the country charts with “To Be Loved By You” (the follow-up to his No. 1 “Pretty Heart”), is set to release his new album, Gold Chain Cowboy, next Friday (July 30th).

Parker McCollum couldn’t be more complimentary about Dierks Bentley, who invited the Texas native along on his Beers On Me Tour, launching August 13th in Salt Lake City, Utah. Parker says there isn’t a nicer guy around than Dierks and he couldn’t say no to going on the road with him.

“I think anybody you talk to in Nashville or around town will all say the same thing — of all the superstars in town, Dierks is, without a doubt, one of the nicest, if not THE nicest, just most down-to-earth, genuine guy,” says Parker. “You know, he means well. He’s got great songs, he’s a great performer and he loves real country music. So, any time someone like that is asking me to go on tour with ‘em, man, I’d be hard pressed to say no.”

Parker is currently making his way up the country charts with his latest song, “To Be Loved By You.”

Parker McCollum is set to release his major label debut album Gold Chain Cowboy on Friday (July 30th) on MCA Nashville. Parker wrote all of the 10-song project, produced by Jon Randall, including his Platinum-selling No. 1 hit “Pretty Heart” and his latest song on country radio “To Be Loved By You.”

Parker’s only hope is for fans to believe every song on the album. “The only thing I can ask is that they believe it,” says Parker. “I really believe in all the songs and wrote all the songs. As long as the listener will believe every song when they listen to it, that’s about all I can ask for.”

Straddling Texas and Nashville, Parker has not only written on his own – the staggering Green Day-evoking “Rest of My Life” – he shares songwriting credits with Randall, Wade Bowen, Randy Rogers, Randy Montana, Rhett Akins, Miranda Lambert and Songwriters Hall of Famer Tony Lane.

Gold Chain Cowboy follows his widely praised Hollywood Gold EP released last fall which became the top-selling debut country EP of 2020. Parker has been named an ‘Artist to Watch’ by Rolling Stone, Billboard, SiriusXM, CMT, RIAA and more. Rolling Stone calls Parker, “a no-holds-barred, confessional singer-songwriter who excels at relatable tales,” while American Songwriter notes, “The Texas native teeters on the edge of next-level superstardom.”

Listen to “Rest of My Life” HERE | Pre-Save Gold Chain Cowboy HERE

Gold Chain Cowboy Track Listing:

1. Wait Outside (Parker McCollum, Jon Randall, Randy Rogers)
2. Dallas (Featuring Danielle Bradbery) (Parker McCollum, Wade Bowen, Randy Rogers)
3. To Be Loved By You (Parker McCollum, Rhett Akins)
4. Drinkin’ (Parker McCollum, Lee Miller)
5. Falling Apart (Parker McCollum, Miranda Lambert, Jon Randall, Randy Rogers)
6. Heart Like Mine (Parker McCollum, Tony Lane, Ben West)
7. Why Indiana (Parker McCollum, Erik Dylan, Randy Montana)
8. Rest Of My Life (Parker McCollum)
9. Pretty Heart (Parker McCollum, Randy Montana)
10. Never Loved You At All (Parker McCollum, Corey Crowder, Brian Kelley)

Opry NextStage has named MCA Nashville’s Platinum-selling, rising country star Parker McCollum as the featured artist for July.

Developed by Opry Entertainment Group and the Grand Ole Opry, Opry NextStage invests in the discovery and development of new artists and highlights one up-and-coming artist per month. Nashville-based country breakout artist Hailey Whitters served as the inaugural artist for 2021.

McCollum, the ACM-nominated New Male Artist of the Year, stepped into the iconic Opry center stage for his Grand Ole Opry debut in February of this year and is set to return to the Opry on Tuesday, July 20.

“Parker has a way of connecting with fans through a sound that is about as real as it gets,” says Jordan Pettit, Director of Artist Relations & Programming Strategy at Opry Entertainment Group. “We look forward to shining a spotlight on his craft as he continues to win over the hearts of our audiences.”

Opry NextStage collaborations include live performances, strategic marketing support and short-form documentary-style storytelling created by Opry Entertainment’s award-winning content team.

Opry NextStage initially launched in 2019 with four diverse artists making incredible music at the forefront of their careers. The inaugural class included Riley Green, Tegan Marie, Tenille Townes and Travis Denning.

Opportunities for Opry NextStage artists include but are not limited to:

• Feature performances on the Grand Ole Opry and Circle’s Opry Live broadcast and livestream (when possible)
• Performance at a special Opry NextStage concert in 2021 and additional live opportunities
• Content produced by Opry Entertainment’s award-winning content team that utilizes all Opry Entertainment venues including Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium and Ole Red locations in Nashville; Gatlinburg, TN; Tishomingo, OK; and Orlando, FL
• Exclusive content to be distributed via Circle broadcast, streaming and video-on demand channels
• Customized marketing and promotion activations utilizing Opry web and social assets including Opry.com and Opry Entertainment’s millions of combined social followers
• Other opportunities including outdoor advertising, 650 WSM-AM radio specials

For more information on Opry NextStage, visit opry.com/nextstage.

For 95 years, the Grand Ole Opry has created opportunities for artists throughout the country music spectrum to make strong connections with fans and fellow artists – on its stages and across its channels – from terrestrial radio to network television to the digital universe and to Circle, which is home to Opry Live and earned the Opry the No. 1 spot on Pollstar’s Top 100 Livestreamers Chart. Audiences around the world look to the Opry to showcase the very best in country music.

Since its inception, the Opry has helped launch the careers of countless artists, including Roy Acuff, Patsy Cline, Little Jimmy Dickens, George Jones, Loretta Lynn, Bill Monroe, and Dolly Parton, to name just a few. Award-winning group Little Big Town made its very first public appearance as a group on the Opry stage in 1999, and Carrie Underwood cemented a place in country music with her first Opry appearance less than two weeks after having been named American Idol in 2005.